Growing up in England, there is no way I don’t believe in ghosts. I have only once (possibly) seen one, but I have often sensed them in old buildings and on lonely footpaths. At this ghostly time of year, challenge your kids to find out more about some famous ghosts, such as: • Anne Boleyn, […]

During World War One, collecting conkers (horse chestnuts) was not child’s play. It was war work. Cordite, a small ammunitions propellant, had, as one of its ingredients, a liquid compound called acetone that was made from starch. At the beginning of the war, Great Britain was able to use the starch obtained from maize and […]

For the benefit of non-Brits, conkers are the seeds of the horse chestnut tree. Unlike sweet chestnuts, they are not for human consumption, but can be utilized for other things, namely, the game of conkers, which requires two players. After finding a source of conkers, kids seek out the hardest and most symmetrical to drill […]

This blog will be somewhat inactive for the next three days. That is because, for the next three days, I will be fully occupied with the Great Okanagan Book Sale. This annual occurrence (now in its twenty-sixth year and, yes, I’ve been to all of them), consists of a church hall being filled to the […]